My main newsletter, Complex Machinery, includes a section called "In Other News..." It's where I list one-liners about interesting articles that didn't fit into any segments.

You can think of this list as a version of In Other News, but with a wider remit than Complex Machinery's "risk, AI, and related topics."

Above the fold

1. Some thoughts on Chinese absorbing grammatical influences from European languages over the years. (Old North Whale Review)
2. Here's a longread on Mako Nishimura, who is possibly the only woman to make it into Japan's famous yakuza. (The journalist behind this is Sean WIlliams, who is also co-host of The Underworld, a podcast about transnational organized crime.) (The Guardian)
3. Most people remember Enron for being a huge Dot Com-era fraud. It was also a massive energy trader. Hedge fund Citadel has built its own energy-trading empire out of Enron's ashes. (FT)
4. Auto maker Ford joins the list of companies that sacked employees as part of its genAI rollout, only to sheepishly hire them back after the technology failed. Ford stands out because genAI problems have driven billions of dollars in losses. (The Independent, Bloomberg (which was syndicated to MSN))
5. Prediction markets hinge on clear-cut definitions of events. So when a bet relies on something hazier, there's trouble. (New York Times)
6. Thanks to genAI, we live in a world where very-close-to-reality mingles with actual-reality. Artist Trevor Paglen's new book How to See Like a Machine: Images After AI explores this computer-driven perception-as-reality. (Gizmodo)
7. Democrats' future plans include establishing stronger rules around tech platforms. Welcome to "Project 2029." (Semafor)
8. Why do castles frequently appear in video games? It's because of what they represent. (Le Monde 🇫🇷)

The rest of the best

Datacenters

• Datacenters not only cause climate trouble; they're also subject to climate risk as temperatures rise. (Les Echos 🇫🇷)
• Datacenters shape local power grids, and power needs influence where and how datacenters are built. (ING Think)
• A few weeks ago, a major backer of datacenter projects claimed that protests were driven by the Chinese government. He has since done a 180 and acknowledged that he had no evidence to support his claims. (Perhaps because, just maybe, there was no such evidence?) (Gizmodo)

Assorted links

• A multinational law enforcement operation takes out two key tools used by cybercriminals. (Ars Technica)
• Out of both ignorance and spite, employees are burning genAI tokens as part of their employers' sweeping AI mandates. (Futurism)
• OpenAI pushes off its vaunted IPO for a bit. (New York Times)
• Those genAI bots are tireless coworkers, which may lead their human counterparts to work longer hours to keep up. (The Atlantic)
• Edtech companies are learning the hard way that automation is not the same as motivation. (The Atlantic)
• After a data leak, Meta halts its collection of employees' mouse movements and keystrokes for training AI. (Der Spiegel 🇩🇪)
• Buying a home on a cruise ship sounds like the worst blend of boat life and condo board hassles. But some people still want it, so cruise ship companies are offering it. (FT)
• Are those genAI IPOs just a way for desperate companies to raise cash? (The Atlantic)
• Hospitals have forced genAI technology on nursing staff; now, nurses' unions are fighting back. (Marketplace)
• Just what your team always wanted: a Claude bot hanging around your Slack workspace, collecting all kinds of info. (The Register)

Did I miss anything?

Have something I should read? Send the link my way.